Nicholis the GREAT

The playground near my house is every child's dream, at least it would have been mine when I was a kid: two swing sets, monkey bars that wrap around a tunnel slide, a cyclone twirler, a teeter totter, not to mention three separate platform slides. Its simply amazing. Next to the playground is Chanc's frisbee field, also knows as the soccer field. She has a date with it every evening at 5:00. Yesterday, we got to go a little early and that's where we met Nicholis the GREAT. According to his dad, they were having a "guy" day hanging out at the park. His dad sat on the park bench watching Nicholis as he walked around, around, and around the playground going in and out of fits of crying and tantrums. He had a helmet on and by his actions and his dad's responses I knew he was an autistic child. I sat down on the swing-set with Chanc at my side. Somehow our presence, or better said Chanc's presence broke Nicholis pattern and he walked straight over to Chanc. Chanc greeted him like she had known him her whole life. I was actually shocked. I looked over at Nicholis dad and he looked shocked. We both sat silent as I watched Chanc pick up her friesbee and drop it at Nicholis' feet. Nicholis looked at me and I looked at his dad while he said, "It's ok Nic, you can throw the frisbee". I got off the swing and walked Nic and Chanc to the grass and stood there for the next twenty minutes watching Nic throw and Chanc fetch over and over and over; it seemed neither of them was wearing out of energy, but rather being reenergized by one another. Nic laughed as Chanc licked him and loved on him. I glanced over at his dad every few moments and his dad still sat speechless, but now had a smile on his face that nothing could have taken away. After Nic and Chanc were done playing, I told Nic's dad about Chanc's plans to work as a therapy dog. He said he had never seen anything like what had just happened, and he thanked Chanc for playing with Nic. He told her that more people needed to experience her and that she was going to do more great things like what she had done for them that day.
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